I just read a blog from one of my favorite sites – Crowdspring. The blog was titled “558,000 startups and small businesses. Why we should thank the recession.”

My first impression was – they were using this title to get eyeballs on their site. I couldn’t imagine any of us – especially startups and small businesses – would be “thanking” the recession any time soon. Well, I was in for a big surprise.

The idea behind this article (but you should read it yourself HERE) is that the recession has forced people out of their comfort zones – and secure corporate jobs. In their desperation, many turned to looking for a way to turn their passion into revenue.

As the author or that blog says:

You have a computer, right? A cell phone? A table at Starbucks? That minimal infrastructure is adequate for a huge number of new businesses and allows entrepreneurs to hang out their shingle quickly and cheaply, and to compete powerfully.

The end result being tons more small businesses (558,000 a day to be exact) entering the marketplace. Ultimately, the writer feels this will actually result in more job growth and stimulus to the economy.

See, 50% of all new businesses do fail in the first 5 years. However, those that do succeed often become solid and successful enough that they begin to hire others. My personal belief – based on the facts put forth by the author of this article – is that because many of these “new” business owners have lived through the pain and desperation of being jobless, and because many of them are coming from the hardest hit demographics (the “supposed to be retired” and African Americans), the ones that do succeed and are able to hire eventually will probably hire from their own demographic group. New businesses also need the services of other businesses (designers, accountants, web developers, printers, office supply providers, etc.l) and that further encourages economic growth as well.

Thus, this means we probably can “thank the recession” at some point down the line. It’s hard right now. But it’s always hard to be thankful for any “lesson” while you are in the throes of learning it.

So, what about you? Are you living your life ticked-off about the recession? Or are you looking for other opportunities and ways you can expand your business or knowledge into areas that are making money right now?

One idea…

If you own a business based on a specialty area, have you thought about writing a book to tell others how to “do it themselves”? This might seem counter-intuitive but I guarantee you, the people you help to save money now, will be your best customers in the future. When they come across something they can’t do, they’ll come to you because you were the one that helped them.

By writing a book, you also set yourself up as an expert, You become the authority on the subject – getting your name “out there” – so that when other people have the chance to recommend someone with your knowledge or expterise to someone else who can’t “do it themeselves”, your name will be the one they come up with immediately. Not to mention, writing a book using print on demand services is cheap and easy! But we can help you with this too and it’s one of our favorite services we offer. We can even assist you with writing and editing the book if you need us. We have “ghostwritten” several books and have edited many as well.

Ultimately, once we get the title set up with the printer, we can also design a simple web page for you to sell your book or even add the sales page to your current site so that everything is automated! Imagine that! You just write the book and never have to carry inventory, pay for stock, or ship a single item. YES…that is REALLY how print-on-demand works!

That is just one idea for “surviving” during this recession! Contact us for a free consultation and we will give you many more based on your specific business or area of expertise!